Use of N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide and/or the ethyl ester of 2-methyl-3-pentenoic acid as mosquito attractants

ABSTRACT

Described are the uses of N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide having the structure: ##STR1## and the ethyl ester of 2-methyl-3-pentenoic acid having the structure: ##STR2## taken alone or in combination as attractants for mosquitos (Culicidae). The N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide and the ethyl ester of 2-methyl-3-pentenoic acid taken alone or incombination find utility primarily as bait enhancers for acute toxins and/or trapping devices.

This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 026,978, filed 3/17/87now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to attractants for Culicidae (mosquitos). Moreparticularly this invention relates to compositions of matter containingN,N-diethyl-m-toluamide or the ethyl ester of 2-methyl-3-pentenoic acidor combinations of same as attractants for Culicidae.

Fast intercontinental travel and trade are stepping up chances ofimporting nonindigenous insect pests into the United States.Attractants, or lures, can be of considerable aid in facilitating theearly detection of such insect pests, and they are of vital importancein measuring the progress of a program aimed at eradicating a speciesthat has become established.

In Agriculture Handbook No. 239 published by the Agricultural ResearchService of the United States of America Department of Agriculture issuedin June 1963 entitled, "Materials Tested As Insect Attractants",compiled by M. Beroza and N. Green, N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide having thestructure: ##STR3## is indicated to have low attractancy indeces ("1" ona scale of 1 to 3) for Drosophila and the European chafer; and amoderate attractancy index ("2" on a scale of 1 to 3) for the PinkBollworm.

However, nothing in the prior art discloses the use of eitherN,N-diethyl-m-toluamide or the ethyl ester of 2-methyl-3-pentenoic acidor combinations thereof in attracting certain species of insectsincluding Culicidae.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Our invention relates to the use of N,N-diethyl-m-toluamideor the theethyl ester of 2-methyl-3-pentenoic acid or combinations thereof asattractants for mosquitos (Culicidae).

The trapping system used in testing the efficacy of theN,N-diethyl-m-toluamide or the the ethyl ester of 2-methyl-3-pentenoicacid and combinations thereof is a standard ZOECON® sticky trapconsisting of a ZOECON PHEROCON® 1 C trap with a 2 cm×2 cm strip (or"lamina") of formulated slow release attractant (in an amount sufficientto attract mosquitos from the three-space surrounding the lamina)suspended on a paper clip inside the trap. The traps were placed in agoat barn and are suspended from the rafters. Trap placement wasreplicated in the four quadrants of the barn. Traps were placed in thebarn for seven days and the mosquitos collected were identified andcounted. All test materials were compared with a standardized checktreatment consisting of 0.5 grams of GOLDEN MALRIN® insect bait insideof the slow release packet hung like the other compounds.

Our invention also relates to the formation of mosquitoattractant-containing polymeric pellets by means of introduction into asingle screw or twin screw extruder of, in series, thermoplastic polymerfollowed by mosquito attractant which is compatible with thethermoplastic polymer, in turn, followed by introduction of a gaseousblowing agent or blowing agent which will produce a gas which is inertto the polymer and to the mosquito attractant, e.g.,N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide or the ethyl ester of 2-methyl-3-pentenoic acid.

In the alternative, the use of the foaming agent can be omitted.

The nature of the extruder utilized in this aspect of our invention toform the polymeric mosquito attractant particles of our invention may beeither single screw or double screw. Thus, the types of extruder thatcan be used are disclosed at pages 246-267 and 332-349 of the ModernPlastics Encyclopedia, 1982-1983 published by the McGraw-Hill PublishingCompany, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.More specifically, examples of extruders which are usable in carryingout this aspect of our invention (with modification for introduction ofmosquito attractant downstream from introduction of the polymer andoptionally with a further modification that the gaseous blowing agent isintroduced still further downstream from the point of introduction ofinsect attractant) are as follows:

1. The Welex "Super Twinch" 3.5" extruder manufactured by WelexIncorporated, 850 Jolly Road, Blue Bell, Pa. 19422;

2. Krauss-Maffei twin screw extruder manufactured by the Krauss-MaffeiCorporation/Extruder Division, 3629 West 30th Street South, Wichita,Kans. 67277;

3. Modified Sterling model 4000 and 5000 series extruder manufactured bySterling Extruder Corporation of 901 Durham Avenue, South Plainfield,N.J.;

4. CRT ("Counter-Rotating Tangential") Twin Screw Extruder manufacturedby Welding Engineers, Inc. of King of Prussia, Pa. 19406;

5. The Leistritz Twin Screw Dispersion Compounder manufactured by theAmerican Leistritz Extruder Corporation of 198 U.S. Route 206 South,Somerville, N.J. 08876;

6. The ZSK Twin Screw Co-Rotating Extruder manufactured by the Werner &Pfleiderer Corporation of 663 East Crescent Avenue, Ramsey, N.J. 07446;

7. The Farrel Extruder manufactured by Farrel Connecticut Division,Emhart Machinery Group, Ansonia, Conn. 06401;

8. The MPC/V Baker Perkins Twin Screw Extruder manufactured by the BakerPerkins Inc. Chemical Machinery Division of Saginaw, Mich. 48601; and

9. The Berstorff single screw, twin screw, or foam extrusion equipmentmanufactured by Berstorff Corporation, P.O. Box 240357, 8200-AArrowridge Blvd., Charlotte, N.C. 28224.

In producing the mosquito attractant-containing polymer particles of ourinvention, various polymers may be utilized, for example, low densitypolyethylene, high density polyethylene, polypropylene, the co-polymerof ethylene and vinyl acetate, and polyvinyl chloride. Morespecifically, the polymers used in the practice of our invention may beco-polymers of ethylene and a polar vinyl monomer selected from (a)vinyl acetate; (b) ethyl acrylate; (c) methyl acrylate; (d) butylacrylate and (e) acrylic acid including the hydrolyzed co-polymer ofethylene and vinyl acetate. Preferred co-polymers are ethylene vinylacetate with about 9 to 60% vinyl acetate and ethylene/ethyl acrylatewith about 6 to 18% ethyl acrylate.

Resins of the type disclosed for use as co-polymers are commerciallyavailable in the molding powder form. For example, ethylene vinylacetate co-polymers are marketed by the E. I. duPont de Nemours Companyunder the tradename "ELVAX®" and by the Arco Polymer Division under thetrademark "DYLAND®" and by the Exxon Corporation of Linden, N.J. underthe trademark "DEXXON®". Ethylene/ethyl acrylate co-polymers aremarketed by Union Carbide Corporation under the tradename "EEA RESINS®".

The polymer is added to the single screw or twin screw extruder at afeed rate in the range of from about 80 up to about 300 pounds per hourwhile maintaining the temperature in the screw extruder between about160° and about 240° C. If the polymer or co-polymer powder is added tothe extruder at a reference "barrel segment", then the mosquitoattractant is added to the extruder under pressure downstream from theaddition point of the polymer at 1 or more "barrel segments" S-2, S-3,S-4, S-5, S-6, S-7, S-8 or S-9.

Thus, the invention provides a process for forming mosquitoattractant-containing polymer particles such as polymeric pellets whichinclude a relatively high concentration of mosquito attractant. Themosquito attractant added at "barrel segments" S-2, S-3, S-4, S-5, S-6,S-7, S-8 or S-9 of the single screw or twin screw extruder is to becompatible with the polymer added at "barrel segment" S-1 of the singlescrew or twin screw extruder.

The proportion of mosquito attractant is limited only by either (a) itssolubility in the resin or mixture of resins used and/or (b) the volumeratio of microvoids in the polymer to said polymer and/or (c) thesolubility of the mosquito attractant in the polymer on solidification.The proportion of mosquito attractant can in many instances go up to 45%by weight or even higher.

Thus, the proportion of mosquito attractant to resin can vary from smallbut effective amounts on the order of about 1% of the weight of theresin body up to about 45% by weight of the resin body. In general, itis preferred to use between about 5% up to about 30% based on the weightof resin body of the mosquito attractant. This is an optimum amountbalancing the proportion of mosquito attractant against the time periodover which the article emits the mosquito attractant and against thetendency of the mosquito attractant to "oil out". This "oiling out" isspecifically avoided as a result of the use of foaming agent.

As stated, supra, various polymers are useful in the practice of ourinvention. Specific examples of polymers useful in the practice of ourinvention are as follows:

(a) DYLAN® brand of low density polyethylene DYLAN® is a trademark ownedby the Atlantic Richfield Company of Los Angeles, Calif.;

(b) DYLITE® of expandable polystryene compositions. DYLITE® is atrademark of the Atlantic Richfield Company of Los Angeles, Calif.;

(c) SUPER DYLAN® a high density polyethylene. SUPER DYLAN® is atrademark of the Atlantic Richfield Company of Los Angeles, Calif.;

(d) Blended polyethylene and carbon black as specifically taught in U.S.Pat. No. 4,369,267 issued on Jan. 18, 1983, the specification for whichis incorporated by reference herein;

(e) Polystyrene as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,369,227 issued on Jan.19, 1983, the specification for which is incorporated by referenceherein;

(f) Polyene/alpha-olefin as exemplified and disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.4,369,291, the specification for which is incorporated by referenceherein;

(g) Poly-alpha-olefins as exemplified in Canadian Letters Pat. No.1,137,069 issued on Dec. 7, 1982, the specification for which isincorporated by reference herein;

(h) Polymeric compositions as disclosed in Canadian Letters Pat. No.1,137,068 issued on Dec. 7, 1982, the specification for which isincorporated by reference herein;

(i) Poly-alpha-olefins disclosed in Canadian Letters Pat. No. 1,137,067,the specification for which is incorporated by reference herein;

(j) Polyolefins described in Canadian Letters Pat. No. 1,137,066, thespecification for which is incorporated by reference herein;

(k) Polyethylene oxides as disclosed in Canadian Letters Pat. No.1,137,065 issued on Dec. 7, 1982, the specification for which isincorporated by reference herein;

(l) Olefin polymers and co-polymers as disclosed in Canadian LettersPat. No. 1,139,737, the disclosure of which is incorporated by referenceherein. Canadian Pat. No. 1,139,737 was issued on Jan. 18, 1983;

(m) Polyolefins disclosed in Canadian Letters Pat. No. 1,139,738, thedisclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. Canadian Pat.No. 1,139,738 was issued on Jan. 18, 1983;

(n) Chlorinated PVC as disclosed in Polymer 1982, 23 (7, Suppl.), 1051-6abstracted at Chem. Abstracts 97: 145570y, 1982;

(o) Polyepsilon caprolactone co-polymers made by means of alcoholinitiated polymerization as disclosed in J. Polym. Sci. Polym. Chem. Ed.1982, 20(2), pages 319-26, abstracted at Chem. Abstracts, Volume 96:123625x, 1982;

(p) Styrene acrylonitrile co-polymers as disclosed in Diss. Abstracts,Int. B, 1982, 42(8), 3346 and abstracted at Chem. Abstracts 96: 143750n(1982);

(q) Co-polymers of epsilon caprolactone with 1,4-butane diol asdisclosed at Kauch. Rezine, 1982, (2), 8-9, abstracted at Chem.Abstracts, Volume 96: 182506 g (1982);

(r) Polyesters as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,326,010, thespecification for which is incorporated by reference herein;

(s) Chlorinated polyethylene as disclosed by Belorgey, et al., J. Polym.Sci. Polym. Phys. Ed. 1982, 20(2), 191-203;

(t) Plasticized polyepsilon caprolactone co-polymers containing dimethylphthalate plasticizers as set forth in Japanese Pat. No. J81/147844,abstracted at Chem. Abstracts, Volume 96: 69984y (1982), thespecification for which is incorporated by reference herein;

(u) Maleic anhydride modified adducts of polyepsilon caprolactonepolyols and ethylenically unsaturated monomer as disclosed in U.S. Pat.No. 4,137,279 issued on Jan. 30, 1979, the specification for which isincorporated by reference herein;

(v) Polyurethane polymers having lactone backbones as disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 4,156,067 issued on May 22, 1979, the disclosure of which isincorporated by reference herein;

(w) Polyurethane polyether resins wherein the resin is obtained byreacting a polyfunctional lactone with a long chain polyalkylene dioland a urethane precursor as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,355,550 issuedon Mar. 10, 1981, the disclosure of which is incorporated by referenceherein; and

(x) Resins having polyurethane backbones as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.3,975,350 issued on Aug. 17, 1976, the disclosure of which isincorporated by reference herein.

Optionally, downstream from the addition point of the mosquitoattractant a gaseous or liquid containing blowing agent may be added(e.g., at barrel segments S-5, S-6, S-7, S-8 or S-9 and S-10) using thepolymer addition barrel segment as a reference barrel segment "S-1".Examples of gaseous blowing agents are carbon dioxide, nitrogen,mixtures of nitrogen and carbon dioxide in proportions of from 1 up to99% by volume nitrogen and 99 down to 1% by volume carbon dioxide,helium, mixtures of helium and nitrogen, mixtures of helium and carbondioxide and other gases which are inert at the temperature and pressureof the polymer at the time of the extrusion operation. Thus, gascontaining oxygen or other reactive gases, e.g., hydrogen, should beavoided. The pressure of the gas blowing agent being added to theextruder at the point of addition may vary from about 80 up to about 150psig. Higher pressures may be used without adversely affecting theusefulness of the foamed mosquito attractant-containing polymerparticle.

The feed rate range of mosquito attractant may be between about 0.5% upto about 45% by weight of the polymer.

The die of the extruder may create rod, sheet, film or ribbon. Theresulting product may then, if desired, be pelletized to form foamedmosquito attractant-containing polymer particles or the ribbon may beused "as-is" as an mosquito attractant-containing polymeric article ofmanufacture itself.

In addition to the optional gaseous blowing agents (which arenecessarily "inert" gases), blowing agents may be added at some point onthe extruder which will create gaseous voids in the mosquitoattractant-containing polymeric articles of our invention and these"blowing agents" are well known to one having ordinary skill in the art.Examples of such non-gaseous containing materials which yield gases onadmixture with the polymer in the extruder but which are still inert tothe mosquito attractant are as follows:

(i) Under high pressure, ethylene, methane, propane, butane, propylene,methyl chloride, methyl bromide, vinyl chloride and methylene dichlorideas more specifically described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,387,730, thespecification for which is incorporated by reference herein;

(ii) Ordinarily liquid material such as n-pentane, isopentane,cyclopentane, hexane and petroleum ether fractions or halogenhydrocarbons such as CFCl₃, CF₂ Cl₂, CH₃ Cl, CH₂ Cl₂ separately or inadmixture with one another as set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 3,758,425,column 4, lines 1-5, the specification for which is incorporated byreference herein;

(iii) Dichlorotetrafluoroethane, tetramethylmethane,monochlorodifluoromethane, dichlorodifluoromethane, anddichlorotetrafluoroethane as specifically described in U.S. Pat. Nos.2,948,664 and 2,948,665 issued on Aug. 9, 1960, the specifications forwhich are incorporated herein by reference; and

(iv) Azo bis(formamide); diazoaminobenzene; N,N'-dinitrosopentamethylenetetramine; N,N'-dimethyl-N,N'-dinitrosoterephthalamide;p,p'-oxy-bis(benzene sulfonyl semicarbazide); azo bis(isobutyronitrile);p,p'-oxy-bis(benzene sulfonyl hydrazide); p,p'-diphenyl-bis(sulfonylhydrazide); benzene-sulfonyl hydrazide; m-benzene-bis(sulfonylhydrazide) as more specifically described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,298,975issued on Jan. 17, 1967, the specification for which is incorporated byreference herein.

The resulting extruded (and if desired pelletized) material may then befor example injection molded to form a useful article. Such injectionmolding can be carried out in accordance with the procedure as set forthin U.S. Pat. No. 3,268,636 issued on Aug. 23, 1966, the specificationfor which is incorporated by reference herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4, FIGS. 3 and 4 show in detail theZOECON® sticky trap, more specifically a ZOECON PHEROCON® 1 C Trap(e.g., in FIG. 4 indicated by reference numeral 616a) and in FIG. 1indicated by reference numerals 608c, 608d, 609a, 609b, 609c, 609d,610a, 610c, 610d, 611a, 611c, 612a, 612c, 612d, 613a, 613c, 613d, 614aand 614b, 614c, 615a, 615c, 616a, 616b, 617a, 617b, 617c, 618a, 618b,618c, 619a, 619c, 620a, 620b, 620c, 621a, 621b, 621c, 623a, 623b, 623c,624a, 624b and 624c. The ZOECON PHEROCON® 1 C Trap has suspended in itas will be seen from FIGS. 3 and 4, a 2 cm×2 cm strip (or lamina) ofslow release polymer (polyethylene) 6117 in FIGS. 3 and 4 containingmosquito attractant (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide or the ethyl ester of2-methyl-3-pentenoic acid or a mixture thereof containing from about 1%up to about 99% by weight of N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide and from about 99%down to about 1% of the ethyl ester of 2-methyl-3-pentenoic acid in anamount sufficient to attract Culicidae (mosquitos)) or the 2 cm×2 cmstrip contains the GOLDEN MALRIN® control.

The 2 cm×2 cm strip 6117 is suspended in the trap 616a from apex 6116using holder 6118. Trap 616a has lower tray 6110 which will catch deadmosquitos which do not adhere to the 2 cm×2 cm strip 6117. The lowertray 6110 is attached via strips 6112a and 6112b to upper holder 6111which is attached to suspension bar 6113 suspended by rod 6114 to thebarn beam 6115 (in FIG. 2). The barn beam 6115 is held in a horizontalposition by upright supports 602 and 606 (as will be seen in FIG. 2)which is firmly in place on the barn floor 6119. The 2 cm×2 cm strip6117 is formulated in such apparatus as is set forth in FIG. 6 describedin detail, infra.

The traps containing the mosquito attractant, e.g.,N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide or the ethyl ester of 2-methyl-3-pentenoic acidor mixture of same or the GOLDEN MALRIN® control are placed in the goatbarn having fencing panels 601 and 603 and inner support 604 and 605, anobservation post 622 and experimental locations 608, 609, 610, 611, 612,613, 614, 615, 616, 617, 618, 619, 620, 621, 623, and 624 has suspendedin it the several ZOECON PHEROCON® 1 C Traps each containing 2 cm×2 cmstrips of formulated slow release mosquito attractants. Trap placementwas replicated in four quadrants of the barn. Traps 616i a, 616b, 615a,615c and other traps were placed in the barn for seven days and themosquitos collected were identified and counted. All the test materialswere compared with a standardized check treatment consisting of 0.5grams of GOLDEN MALRIN® insect bait inside slow release packets hunglike the other compounds as in strip 6117 in FIGS. 3 and 4.

FIG. 5 indicates the results of field trial tests using the apparatusset forth in FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4.

FIG. 5 sets forth field trial test for the attractantsN,N-diethyl-m-toluamide, the ethyl ester of 2-methyl-3-pentenoic acidand GOLDEN MALRIN® insofar as their attractancy for Culicidae(mosquitos) is concerned. FIG. 5 is a series bar graphs. The bar graphindicated by reference numeral 103 is the bar graph forN,N-diethyl-m-toluamide insofar as it attracts Culicidae (mosquitos).The bar graph indicated by reference numeral 102 is the bar graph forthe ethyl ester of 2-methyl-3-pentenoic acid insofar as it attractsCulicidae (mosquitos). The bar graph indicated by reference numeral 101is the bar graph for GOLDEN MALRIN® (insofar as it attracts Culicidae(mosquitos)). FIG. 5 is a graph of mosquitos/trap vs compound. Thus, theN,N-diethyl-m-toluamide in FIG. 5 gives rise to an attractancy ofCulicidae of 1.00 mosquitos/trap; the the ethyl ester of2-methyl-3-pentenoic acid gives rise to an attractancy of 1.75mosquitos/trap; and the GOLDEN MALRIN® gives rise to only 2.25mosquitos/trap.

FIG. 6 is a schematic cut-away elevation diagram of an extrusion andpelletizing apparatus useful in carrying out a process of our inventionduring the operation of said apparatus whereby the mosquitos attractantis incorporated into a polymer such as a polyethylene. Motor 15 drivesthe extruder screws located at 23A in barrel 16, the extruder beingoperated at temperatures in the range of about 150° up to about 250° C.At the beginning of the barrel resin at source 12 together withadditives, e.g., processing aids and densifiers at location 13 is addedvia addition funnel 14 into the extruder. Simultaneously (when theoperation reaches "steady state"), mosquito attractant,N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide, the ethyl ester of 2-methyl-3-pentenoic acid ora mixture of N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide and the ethyl ester of2-methyl-3-pentenoic acid is added to the extruder at one, two or moreof barrel segments S-3, S-4, S-5, S-6, S-7 and S-8 of the extruder(which may be a twin screw or single screw extruder) at locations 18a,18b, 18c and 18d (for example) by means of gear pump 23 from source 17.From source 19 into barrel segments S-5, S-6, S-7, S-8, S-9 and S-10, agaseous or liquid blowing agent, e.g., nitrogen, carbon dioxide and thelike as described, supra, are added simultaneously with the addition ofthe mosquito attractant, e.g., N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide, the ethyl esterof 2-methyl-3-pentenoic acid or a mixture of N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide andthe ethyl ester of 2-methyl-3-pentenoic acid. The feed rate range ofresin is about 80-300 pounds per hour. The feed rate range of themosquito attractant is between 1 and 35% of the feed rate range of theresin. The blowing agent rate range is such that the pressure of the gasor the pressure over the liquid being fed into the extruder is betweenabout 50 and 200 psig if, indeed, blowing agent is added. If desired,the extruded ribbon or cylinder may be passed through water bath 20 andpelletizer 21 into collection apparatus 21a.

It is well known that the N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide is an insect repellentas is set forth in Published Japanese Application J84/042646 (whichdiscloses an insect repellent composition containing as activeconstituents N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide and halobenzoylpropionic acidesters abstracted as follows:

BADI D21 77-06678Y/04=J84042-646-B Synergistic insect repellent compens.of diethyl toluamide and alkyl halobenzoyl propionates

BASF AG 06.07.75-DE-530070

B05 (16.10.84) .BE-843684-A A01n-37/42

22.06.76 as 072844(288RH)

Insect Repellent compen. are new contg. as active constituentsN,N-dimethyl-toluamide and a halobenzoylpropionic acid ester of formula(A) In (A)X is halo; R Is 1-4C alkyl opt. substd. by Cl or OMe.Specifically claimed is ethyl beta-(4-bromobenzoyl)propionate.

The effectiveness of the toluamide against mosquitos is combined withthat of (A) against houseflies, and a synergistic effect is shown.

A preferred insect repellent compen. is a mixt. ofN,N-diethyl-m-toluamide (II) and ethyl beta-(4-bromobenzoyl)propionate,esp. ratio of 6:1 to 1:6 (J52010419-A). (4 pp)

N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide is also known as a cockroach and mosquitorepellent as set forth in Chemical Business, September 1985, at page 45,to wit:

ROACH OFFENDER

If you've seen cockroaches where we've seen cockroaches, you probablythink that nothing turns away these hardy insects. Researchers at theDepartment of Agriculture's Gainesville, FL, laboratory, however, saythat some chemical cousins of the well-known mosquito-chaser DEETeffectively discourage German roaches. USDA is now seeking patents onthe compounds, said to keep roaches out of such favorite breeding spotsas boxes and cracks for a month or more.

N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide is also known as a female Pink Bollworm Mothattractant as set forth in Science, Jan. 5, 1968 issue (by D. S.Greenberg, at pages 99 and 100) and also as set forth by Neumark, et al,Environmental Letters 7(1), 21-30 (1974) abstracted at ChemicalAbstracts, Volume 81, 1974, Abstract No. 146849c.

Thus, the attractancy determined in the instant invention forN,N-diethyl-m-toluamide is surprising and unexpected. However, it hasnow been determined that the N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide is an attractantfor mosquitos (Culicidae) in the air stream (at relatively lowconcentrations) and still acts as a repellent when coated on an object,e.g., the human epidermis. Thus, N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide can be usedboth as an attract and a repellent depending upon the concentrationsused.

The concentrations of all materials tested herein are at the level of 5%in polymer.

It is noteworthy that dimethyl disulfide has heretofore been discoveredalone as a mosquito attractant (culicidae) but its use in conjunctionwith N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide is unknown. Thus, U.S. Letters Patent, Ser.No. 901,647 filed on Aug. 29, 1986 discloses the use of dimethyldisulfide as a mosquito attractant when taken alone or in combinationwith dibutylsuccinate.

The ethyl ester of 2-methyl-3-pentenoic acid may be prepared accordingto the procedure as set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,000,327 issued onDecember 28, 1976 at Example XL or at Example II. U.S. Pat. No.4,000,327 issued on Dec. 28, 1986 is incorporated herein by reference.That patent discloses the use in berry fruit flavors of the the ethylester of 2-methyl-3-pentenoic acid.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of attracting Culicidae to an insecttrap comprising the step of exposing the environment surrounding saidtrap to an insect attractant-containing polymer which consists of amixture of a polymer and from about 1% up to about 45% by weight of saidpolymer of a composition of matter selected from the group consistingof:(i) N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide; and (ii) an effective Culicidaeattracting mixture of N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide and the ethyl ester of2-methyl-3-pentenoic acidsaid polymer being compatible with saidcomposition of matter.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the compositionof matter is N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide.
 3. The method of claim 1 whereinthe composition of matter is an effective Culicidae attracting mixtureof N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide and the ethyl ester of 2-methyl-3-pentenoicacid.